Crufts 2016: The rare British breeds at risk of disappearing

In 1660, Samuel Pepys recorded Charles II’s amusement when one of his spaniels defecated in a boat. “It made us laugh,” Pepys noted, “and me think that a king and all that belong to him are but just as others are.”

Yet while our special relationship with dogs has not changed since Pepys’s day, the animals have, almost beyond recognition, and especially so in the past few decades. As we make less of our livelihoods outdoors, and as more of us live alone, we value the companionship of dogs over their abilities. We now select them to reflect us, as friends or accessories. This is bad news for traditional British breeds such as the King Charles spaniel, one of a clutch whose numbers have waned recently, while those of foreign breeds have rocketed.

Breeds like the French Bulldog are replacing British dogsCredit:
Helge Sauber

Thus chihuahuas owe their profusion to Paris Hilton, and 101 Dalmatians helped blotch our parks with spotted dogs. French bulldogs made fans of Lady Gaga and Leonardo DiCaprio, with spectacular results. Their numbers have risen 2,747 per cent in the UK since 2004.

“They are great dogs,” says Bill Lambert, Kennel Club spokesman, of the French bulldog, with a degree of disbelief. “But we’re registering 8,000 a year. Rather than one of these new faddy breeds, people might find a smooth fox terrier suits their needs better.”

Otterhounds are beguiling beasts, huge and shaggy with an astonishing nose

Horatio Clare

Where once this suitability might have depended on what you farmed or hunted, the problem facing British breeds now is the British lifestyle.

“The most challenging is the otterhound,” Lambert says, “We only registered 34 last year.” Otterhounds are beguiling beasts, huge and shaggy with an astonishing nose, able to track a scent 72 hours old through mud and water. Richard Griffiths keeps 20, hunting the riverbanks of Wales for mink throughout the summer.

“They’re majestic animals, very friendly, but they’re not for everybody,” he says. “A lot of fur carries a lot of mud and water into the house. I did give one to the police for tracking, but it didn’t work out. When it got to the crime scene, it wanted to think about things before starting work. A German shepherd is straight off on the scent.”

An Otterhound competes at CruftsCredit:
Alamy

Competing with the otterhound in the Vulnerable British Breeds category at Crufts this weekend will be Woody, a Sussex spaniel belonging to Lesley Nesbitt. These leather-gold beauties have broad feet and strong limbs, bred for hunting over Sussex clay. “Last year only 43 were registered,” Nesbitt says. “They’re stubborn, vocal and extremely lovely. They have this habit of grinning at you – they’re difficult to tell off.”

Charm is not enough to sustain the Sussex. Nesbitt ascribes their survival to owners who travel nationwide showing the dogs. “We’re hardworking enthusiasts, trying to keep them in the public eye,” she says.

While it would take an expert to identify a Sussex, the appearance of the Bedlington terrier, another threatened breed, drops jaws.

The Bedlington terrier looks like a lamb from behindCredit:
Alamy

“They used to call them wolves in sheep’s clothing,” says Pamela Garbutt, who will be judging them at Crufts. Bedlingtons look like lambs, with bizarrely shaved ears, tiny heads and silky coats. Rats, foxes and badgers have had cause to fear Bedlingtons, which are bred to hunt and kill.

The decline of the English setter and the King Charles spaniel are more surprising. My childhood was blessed by Humphrey, a setter.

Horatio Clare

“If you shout at them, they’ll sulk and not come back until they’re ready to forgive you,” Garbutt says. Many specimens she assesses sport bare ears tipped with a tassel of hair. “If they tackled a rat, it would go for the tassel, thinking it was the ear,” says David Taylor, chairman of the National Bedlington Terrier Club. Older generations sometimes recognise them, he says. “They were popular after the war, they’d catch a rabbit for you when there wasn’t a lot of meat about.” Their exotic aspect is growing in popularity in Russia and China as it shrinks in Britain.

If the Bedlington looks like a specialist’s choice, the decline of the English setter and the King Charles spaniel are more surprising. My childhood was blessed by Humphrey, a setter.

“They’re one of the oldest breeds of gun dog,” says Fiona Mitchell, of the English Setter Association. “They have very good noses. They find the game and set – they lift one front leg, it’s beautiful to see – and that tells you there’s something in the undergrowth. But people don’t want a breed that needs a gallop.”

Even the King Charles Cavalier Spaniel has fallen out of favourCredit:
Christopher Pledger

Should you wander Esher Common one morning, you may see Robert Dix galloping his King Charles spaniels. “They’re friendly, but they like to be formally introduced,” he says. “Not everybody likes the flatter face of the Cavalier King Charles, so it got neglected. But they’ve given us so much love. We take them to shows from Edinburgh to Bournemouth. It’s our whole life. When I get the caravan keys out, they know. They absolutely adore it.”

Put the descriptions of these British breeds together – like to be formally introduced, stubborn, charming, resistant to censure, brave, tolerant and loving – and you have the British national character. Our shared history is a heartening story of love and loyalty. If you are considering acquiring a dog – or another dog – spare a thought for British breeds. Should their numbers continue to decline, something of the idiosyncratic, historic character of old Britain will go with them.